southernbibliomom's reviews
182 reviews

All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

If I could give this a million stars, I would. This book is hauntingly, beautifully, heartbreaking. Patch is a boy who makes a decision to help a girl (Misty) one day. As a result, he is taken and kept captive in the dark. But his best friend Saint refuses to stop looking for him or let anyone else. And Patch also has light in that darkness in the form of Grace - a girl he never sees and questions arise as to if she’s even real. The story follows all four of these characters and delves into how horrifically tragic circumstances can shape lives both for good and bad. It also forces what we believe about good and bad. As Chief Nix asks, “If we’re only 10% bad, are we good?” When good people seemingly do bad things, what does that make them. And the people who have the most perfect of masks can often be the most heinous among us. Then there are those things that we wrestle with because we are told they’re bad, but what happens when the world changes. I was frustrated and cried and celebrated and laughed and held my breath. This book will stay with me for a VERY LONG TIME. 

The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

lol …. Oh my stars! So good. I will say the twist wasn’t that twisty but it was ok because what an ending. The story centers on Adam who is married to high powered defense lawyer and partner in a law firm Sarah. Adam is a struggling writer who relies on Sarah for everything, including the lake house she bought him so he could concentrate on writing. Adam, however, uses said lake house as a retreat for him and his mistress who just waltzes in like she owns the place. Then, Kelly (the mistress), winds up brutally murdered and Adam is the suspect. Sarah is left to defend him while also dealing with his toxic and smothering mother, an assistant who is just a little too obsessed with her, and a lawyer in her firm who wants her job. As she digs deeper she realizes that Kelly isn’t what she seemed either. It is a roller coaster of a ride. The narcissism is intense and at times I could not roll my eyes any harder. While I did figure out the main who dun it part and even one of the minor twists, it was still worth the read for the ending chapters alone. 

One Puzzling Afternoon by Emily Critchley

challenging emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I really liked this book. It centers around Edie and is told in two distinct time periods. The “present” 2018 and the past 1951. Edie is a young girl on the outskirts of her school’s society. No friends, not much money, and a mother who claims to be a fortune teller. Then one day she is befriended by Lucy, the school’s golden girl. As the friendship grows so do Lucy’s secrets and they are secrets Edie kept until the end. Even when Lucy went missing. But now Edie has lived her life. Her husband has died and she is suffering from the beginnings of dementia. One thing remains clear to her, she must find Lucy who has now been missing over 50 years. While the mystery of Lucy’s disappearance is in the drivers seat of this book, it is more the story of a strong woman who had to make and fight for a good life while watching it slip away in her memory that is heartbreaking. As someone who had a parent with dementia, the interactions between her and her family are all too real. I loved Edie and am glad she does seem to have found the kind of life she deserved. 

The Cinnamon Bun Book Store by Laurie Gilmore

funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This is a cute little rom-com. A sequel to the Pumpkin Spice Cafe. Bookstore manager, Hazel, is about to turn 30 when she begins to feel her life has been boring. But then one day she begins to find clues to an adventure in her shop. So, she enlists the town player, Noah, to help her find that adventure. What starts out as harmless, casual fun soon becomes more. But both Noah and Hazel are afraid to reach for something real and risk losing it all. This book is charming where the town itself, Dream Harbor, becomes its own quirky character. There is some spice in this book as well, don’t let that adorable cover fool you.

Griz by Eddie Cleveland

lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

This Might Hurt by Stephanie Wrobel

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book centers around two sisters who have had a difficult upbringing. One so consumed by guilt she runs off to join a cult led by The Teacher. The other so consumed by a need to save she chases after in order to save her sister. Told in both sisters POV as well as through a mysterious flashback POV. This thriller kept me wondering who is the third pov? Who exactly is the teacher? I felt for the older sister, Nat. Throughout her childhood she stood in the gap left by her parents so her sister could have as normal a childhood as possible. She really did become the parent. This led her to live an extremely controlled life where her sister is her only real concern. But, she was still a child herself so she does act out in a childish way when they were kids. Instead of growing up herself, Kit gives Nat all the blame and none of the credit. I just wanted to shake her. Then watching what the teacher does and how she gets the isolation and odd devotion cults are known for is fascinating. And the ending …

Upgrade by Blake Crouch

adventurous challenging sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I love Blake Crouch and think he is an immensely gifted author. This one, however, is really science technical jargon heavy, which made me have to slow down to understand some aspects of it. It’s a phenomenal premise though. Logan is forcefully given an upgrade. His dna is upgraded so that he is faster, stronger, smarter. In a world that has prohibited genetic research, this makes Logan a fugitive. He soon finds out he is on the run from more than just governmental authorities that simultaneously want to punish and study him. He discovers he may be the only one to stop a tragic human kind catastrophe and the danger is closer than he thinks. I rated it a medium pace because again all the very technical science jargon, but it really is a good read that you don’t want to put down. It also challenges you to think about what is an upgrade really? Does higher intelligence truly equal better in every way? How much annihilation is worth it to save the world? I’ll be thinking about this one for awhile.

Worth the Fight by Bella Matthews

emotional lighthearted tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Worth the Risk by Bella Matthews

lighthearted tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

An Inconvenient Wife by Karen E. Olson

lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book was … odd. It is a modern retelling of Henry VIII. Hank Tudor is a billionaire business man who needs absolute control over his wives, both past and current. He has the help of attorney Cromwell to do it. However, when a woman is found dead at one of his houses exactly the same way another woman had been killed years ago at another of his houses, it causes everyone (including current wife Kate) to begin to question just how far Hank would go to control it all. It was trying to be kind of a cozy mystery, but the focus was more on the relationship with the wives. Honestly, there wasn’t much mystery as pretty quickly the person behind it is revealed to the reader if not the characters. *****SPOILER - SORT OF******






It’s also strange to me that it never occurs to ANYONE that it could possibly be this person. 

**** QUASI-SPOLIER OVER ****


I hope there is a book the continues this story coming. There surely must be as NOTHING is solved. There are SO MANY loose ends that it bumps right up to cliffhanger status. There is no resolution for any of the storylines. It just sort of ends. Plus, I want to know if the author plans to follow history with wife #6 or if she plans to change it. As it is, I can’t tell fully on one part of it. Hopefully this is at minimum a duology. If so, I am almost sad I didn’t read this one after the second comes out - if there is one.